PRE-GAME RANT

Well, nothing like facing a team right after they’ve handed another team their asses. The Blackhawks are coming off a 7-1 punishment of the Flames and are currently on a 5 game winning streak. The Oilers consistency this year has been non-existent, but they’ve won some games that most wouldn’t have expected (ex. vs. the Avalanche twice and vs. the Predators on the road). They currently are on a lengthy one-game winning streak, with an ugly, but exciting, win over the Avalanche on Wednesday.

In recent news, the Quinn/Renney doghouse has been getting a few visitors. In the last game, Gilbert was benched for most of the 2nd period for his defensive issues. Quinn was quoted recently in regards to the teams defensemen “I don’t care that they’re offensive. I want them to defend, first.” Also in the doghouse recently (or perhaps again) is Ales Hemsky, as Renney had some unflattering criticism for him at practice. The Oilers are going to be hopeful for big games from both of these guys tonight. They’re going to need big games from everyone, especially in goal.

I predict a game similar to the one in Chicago, but improved. Lots of odd man rushes and breakaways for the other team, however I think we’ll see the Oilers generating good scoring chances. It won’t be a pretty one. I predict a 6-4 game.. as for who the winner is, I’ll go with the Oilers, since I’m a homer, but my brain says Chicago.

Chicago Blackhawks Projected Line-Up (subject to change)

GAME NOTES

– Moreau is questionable tonight. He was hurt from a hit from Ryan Wilson in the game vs. the Avalanche on Wednesday.
– The Oilers currently have 8 injured players, including Moreau (Moreau, Grebeshkov, Chorney, Pouliot, Stone, Pisani, Comrie, Nilsson).
– The forward lines above are currently based on recent practice lines and may change. Not sure also if we’ll see Arsene or if it will be Strudwick. I wouldn’t mind seeing more Arsene, although a game vs. the Blackhawks can be pretty demoralizing for a defenseman.
– UPDATE: Khabibulin has a sore back and is out. JDD will get the start and Oil King Torrie Jung will back him up.

1ST PERIOD SUMMARY

3:50 – CHI – Toews from Kane
Smid loses the puck while circling back behind the net. Toews picks it up and stuffs his own rebound up high past Deslauriers.
4:25 – EDM – Souray from Horcoff, Penner
Penner wins the draw back to Souray who wrists it on net. Barker accidentally punches the rebound back under Huet and in the net.
7:20 – CHI – Versteeg from Sopel, Eager
Staios was battling in the corner with Sopel for the puck. Souray (for some reason) went to go help him, and absolutely no one was in front of the Oilers net except Versteeg. The Hawk in the corner won the battle and passed it out to Versteg.. he got a couple shots off.. JDD made some great saves. On the last shot, the puck flips up high and Souray tried to bat it out with his hand out but doesn’t get enough on it and it flutters into the net. Ugly goal.
12:33 – CHI – Kane from Towes, Campbell
Kane blows past Reddox, powerforward-style and goes in on JDD. JDD opens the legs a bit and Kane slides it through the five hole.

Other Highlights
– To start the game, JFJ and Stortini come out throwing 3 big hits between the two of them, setting the tone early.
– Penner and Bickle collide in the Hawks zone. Afterwards Bickle looks completely out of it as he may have hit his head (helmet actually) on the ice hard. He leaves the ice.
– Horcoff and Hemsky have a great shift. Hemsky sets up Horcoff in the slots and he gets a good shot off and an even better one on the rebound.
– Cogliano carries the puck into the Hawks zone with full speed on Sopel. Sopel manages to poke the puck loose from Cogliano. Moreau finds it and gets a great shot off, plus tries to jam it in under Huet’s pads, but Huet manages to hang on.
– The fans boo the team as the Hawks put on a clinic in their zone playing a great game of keepaway.
– CBC announcers just pointed out that one Hawk outbattled and won the puck from three Oilers.
– Penner seems to be taking the draws tonight for the top line, since Horcoff has been having issues with his shoulder.

2ND PERIOD SUMMARY

11:02 – CHI – Madden from Brower, Ladd
Ladd finds a rebound in front of Deslauriers and slides it across the crease to Madden before Horcoff gets there and he just has to tap it in.

Other Highlights
– The Oilers get a powerplay chance which starts of decent, but the Hawks end up getting two separate short-handed scoring chances.
– O’Sullivan almost gets a clear cut breakaway, but the puck is just a few strides ahead of him and Huet beats him to the puck.
– Apologize for the lack of updates for this period, but my interest is waning a bit.
– With time running down, Hemsky gets the puck behind the net and throws it into the net area and it stays under Huet’s pads. The scoreclock pauses at 0.1 seconds and Horcoff pokes it into the net. After a lengthy review, the goal is waved off because the clock should have run down before the goal was scored.

3RD PERIOD SUMMARY

1:29 – EDM – PP – Penner from Staios, Visnovsky
Just before the powerplay expires, Staios gets a shot off from the point that Penner teps through Huet’s legs. On the play, Staios makes a great play to get around a sprawling Hawk who came up high to block the shot.
8:53 – CHI – PP – Toews from Sharp, Campbell
The powerplay is barely underway. Toews and Sharp give and go and Toews gets it in front of the net and puts a perfect shot upstairs past Deslauriers. I’m not sure I can really blame anyone here.. this is just Hawks awesomeness in effect.

Other Highlights
– Shortly after the Oilers 2nd goal, Byfuglien fires a hard wrister from the slot that gets tipped up and just rings under the bar but doesn’t go in. Very close call.
– Souray does a good job on one shift in this period handling Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net.
– Smid gives away another (Lee points out this is number three), this time to Ben Eager who thankfully doesn’t have the best hands and wires it over the net.
– A line of Penner, O’Sullivan and Brule pours it on strong mostly on great play by Penner. They almost get one there but the puck stays out.

POST-GAME RANT

So, this one went about how my brain told me it would go. The Hawks showed the Oilers how run and gun hockey was meant to be played. They victimized our defense all night, getting in behind them more than a few times.

A few positives in this one, but not many. Penner looked as good as he has all season. He took several draws tonight for Horcoff, since his shoulder is obviously still an issue. Penner looked good there too, as he was 61% on the night. It was also good to see Jacques back, and he got his hitting game going early on in the game. Deslauriers wasn’t particularly bad… most of the goals were just very well placed shots.

I really love Souray’s comments at the bottom of the article. This is why I think he should be the captain should Moreau get moved at all.

Khabbi will have to be in top form again. If we take those lazy penalties like we are prone to, then it’s game over. Hopefully the guys can gut this one out. It would go a long way for the team’s confidence, especially after such a disastrous season on so many fronts.

I’m hoping this is a turning point, but I won’t get bent out of shape if we lose to the team that will win the Stanley Cup this year.

Look at the Oil’s second line. Haha, that could be quite an interesting mix, Gagner the new bruiser, there should be a lot of open ice for him to skate though. I just read that article and I’m liking Souray’s attitude.

Nice comments by Souray, I agree with you guys. I can’t really speak of Moreau’s leadership, because it’s not something we can really see fully. However, you can tell by some of the things Souray says, he is a very good leader. Add to that, he gives 100% every night and a key component to this team. I’d be all for Moreau being traded for other reasons than his ability to captain though. His game just isn’t the same and I think injuries will keep him on the decline.

Zack: about Hossa.. I hope so, because I have been hanging on to him in the yahoo pool gr8one started since the start. lol Also, our 2nd line is crazy, if that’s what it will be… noootttt a fan. Quinn could spread the size better. However he REALLY likes Stortini. Stortini is Quinn’s Petersen.

Racki: Nice comments by Souray, I agree with you guys. I can’t really speak of Moreau’s leadership, because it’s not something we can really see fully. However, you can tell by some of the things Souray says, he is a very good leader. Add to that, he gives 100% every night and a key component to this team. I’d be all for Moreau being traded for other reasons than his ability to captain though. His game just isn’t the same and I think injuries will keep him on the decline. Zack: about Hossa.. I hope so, because I have been hanging on to him in the yahoo pool gr8one started since the start. lol Also, our 2nd line is crazy, if that’s what it will be… noootttt a fan. Quinn could spread the size better. However he REALLY likes Stortini. Stortini is Quinn’s Petersen.

Yeah I loved the pre-captaincy Moreau but it seems like he’s not as fast as he once was and I think he tries a bit too hard now that he’s the captain. I liked him when all he did was go out and wallpaper guys and kill penalties. He may the fittest Oiler but he’s definitely not the same Moreau of say three years ago. I guess father time catches up on the way he plays.

Stortini. What can you say really? The guy is the model of work ethic that Quinn is using. Unfortunately it’s not hitting home with the message “Work hard like Storts and you will be given opportunities.” I think all coaches have a Toby of sorts.

Stortini has been a force this year though. I don’t want to take anything away from him. He bounced out MacI and a couple others, improved his speed, is garnering lots of respect from other teams in his fighting ability and can be counted on for a great effort every night. He a really honest player. It’s too bad Stone and JFJ have been out so long. I really think those three, when combined in the lineup, really give us an intimidation factor we have not had for a long time. It also seemed to make Moreau more effective as well. I see JFJ is in the lineup. Soon I hope to see Stone. Then we’ll be getting closer to the beginning of the year’s lineup.

Yeah, I wonder what the Oilers team will look like at the beginning of next season, some contracts expire and we’re going to have to sign our core and we won’t be able to do that if we don’t move some players with larger contracts around. Come trade deadline, whatever the Oilers case may be it could become quite interesting.

On Storts, if he starts becoming more an enforcer than agitator I wonder what Quinn would do then… Stortini the first liner?

zackman35: Yeah, I wonder what the Oilers team will look like at the beginning of next season, some contracts expire and we’re going to have to sign our core and we won’t be able to do that if we don’t move some players with larger contracts around. Come trade deadline, whatever the Oilers case may be it could become quite interesting.On Storts, if he starts becoming more an enforcer than agitator I wonder what Quinn would do then… Stortini the first liner?

I would have to think Pisani is done as an Oiler. Great guy, brutal contract, terrible health issues that I hope he overcomes. Moreau is interesting. I could see him being offered come trade deadline, but maybe not. Lowe has always liked him and this will be a factor. He seems to have good league respect and this is always something that has been the knock on the Oilers is letting go of proven vets. It’ll be interesting to see how his situation unfolds.

I think it’s safe to say that Nilsson will be gone soon. He’s terrible and makes too much. I could see him going on waivers if a deal can’t be found. Potulny has taken his spot in my opinion and Reddox is showing he has some jam and would mesh well with the real lineup. Nilsson has not. If you’re going to send one of those guys back to Springfield, I pick Nilsson.

On D we will definitely see a trade. Grebs is better all around than Gilbert and will sign for less. You can likely say that Struds will be gone as well. There are lots of cheap D men out there and he’s another deadline guy if we’re out of it. Staios is playing well and has redeemed himself, so I see him staying.

Pouliot will stick if he can come back and win faceoffs. Simple as that.

The rest of the forward mix I can’t call because we have not seen them play together as planned. I think Stone and JFJ are going to stick, but I’m not sure about other guys like POS or Cogliano and Gagner. I can see one of these guys being bundled up with another player for a trade to get some top end scoring help or a top end centre who can win faceoffs and score.

It’s unfortunate because last year was supposed to be about finally evaluating all the players in the system to see if they were usefull and to what degree. We all know how that went.

The nice thing is that Quinn used to be a GM and a good one at that. He’ll be making his recommendations very clear to management and if history repeats itself, he’ll get exactly what he’s asking for.

It’s frustrating as a fan because you see the potential and the objectives that were very clearly outlined by Quinn and Renney, but then we get hit by an atomic bomb and our guys are all sick or injured. It seems to be swinging the other way now, so hopefully we can get some real good chemistry going before Christmas. A good stretch of a dozen games and we’re back in the races without a doubt.

How many years have I said that? This year seems different though. Have I said that before? lol

Chucker: Agreed on Moreau/Stortini. Moreau used to be pretty much like Stortini (except a lot less fighting, and better hands). I miss that Moreau, but you have to do what’s best for the team. Loyalties are good if they help the team.

On the note of contracts expiring… he’s a conspiracy theory for you: do you think the Oilers are intentionally holding Cogliano back so they can re-sign him for cheaper? The same possibly could be said of Deslauriers, who also is up for a new contract. But then again, he probably wouldn’t have gotten a big raise, and they could have given him some of Khabi’s retirement fund.

Of players that I consider key players that need to be re-signed and will get significant raises, we have: Gagner, Cogliano, Brule. Add to that, there is also Grebeshkov, Peckham, Reddox, Stone, Jacques, Potulny, Deslauriers and possibly Comrie.

Basically the Oilers have some tough decisions to make because there’s no way these guys are all going to fit under cap unless it goes up a significant chunk or they move some expensive guys. Pisani’s contract is really the only big one coming off at the end of the year (if he re-signs, it’ll be for cheap). They’ll need to cut Nilsson, Moreau, Pisani’s salary (if not him period) and I’d even like to see a cheaper option for Gilbert.

haha, thanks. I have no idea if mine are right. I got the Chicago line up from the Chicago board’s GDT on HFBoards, and the Oil line up is just the practice lines from yesterday. Again, it’s subject to change and I’ll update if I hear differently.

JDD is starting tonight due to back issues with Khabibulin. Torrie Jung (sound familiar? He’s on the Oil Kings) will back him up. The way things went last time, JDD is going to have to stand on his head. And if he doesn’t, Jung may just see his first bit of NHL action. How crazy is that??

Anyone else hoping JDD gets a charlie horse for a period so Jung can play? haha he might crap his shorts if that happened. The hawks are probably the last team he’d wanna suit up against. good luck kid, should be a good game.

Racki: Chucker: Agreed on Moreau/Stortini. Moreau used to be pretty much like Stortini (except a lot less fighting, and better hands). I miss that Moreau, but you have to do what’s best for the team. Loyalties are good if they help the team. On the note of contracts expiring… he’s a conspiracy theory for you: do you think the Oilers are intentionally holding Cogliano back so they can re-sign him for cheaper? The same possibly could be said of Deslauriers, who also is up for a new contract. But then again, he probably wouldn’t have gotten a big raise, and they could have given him some of Khabi’s retirement fund.Of players that I consider key players that need to be re-signed and will get significant raises, we have: Gagner, Cogliano, Brule. Add to that, there is also Grebeshkov, Peckham, Reddox, Stone, Jacques, Potulny, Deslauriers and possibly Comrie. Basically the Oilers have some tough decisions to make because there’s no way these guys are all going to fit under cap unless it goes up a significant chunk or they move some expensive guys. Pisani’s contract is really the only big one coming off at the end of the year (if he re-signs, it’ll be for cheap). They’ll need to cut Nilsson, Moreau, Pisani’s salary (if not him period) and I’d even like to see a cheaper option for Gilbert.

I pretty much agree with all the guys you mentioned. Not pretty much. I agree completely. You had me at Pisani. lol

That’s an interesting notion isn’t it? Big contract raises coming up and some fat contracts that can no longer be justified. The JDD theory makes sense to me. If you offered the guy a three or four year deal for 900, 1, 1.1, 1.3, 1,4 he’d likely jump at it right now.

As for Cogs and the kids, I don’t think there is really any salaried agenda there. If they would be consistent and help win games, Quinn would show more confidence in them and play the crap out of them. Coaches want to win. That’s it.

I think Quinn is pretty much demonstrating what MacT was saying and that is that these kids are still kids and need years of development before they are the real deal.

Whatever the case, I’d like to see them jettison Nilsson at the very least once everyone is healthy. We need the contract and the cap room and he provides zero. He’s a good European player just not NHL calibre. That’s fine, but go to a league you belong in. If I were Tambi I’d try to assign him to a KHL team like Columbus did with Filatov.

Worst case is he goes and sucks there too, best case has many options, all of which involve Nilsson not being an Oiler. It also frees up that contract spot and roster space.

Staios was battling in the corner for the puck. Souray (for some reason) went to go help him, and absolutely no one was in front of the net except Versteeg. The Hawk in the corner won the battle and passed it out to Versteeg.. he got a couple shots off.. JDD made some saves. The puck flipped up high and Souray tried to bat it with his hand out of the crease area and it dropped off his body and in the net. Ugly goal.

Yeah the Hawks are at an entire different level. We saw this the last time the Oilers played them. Oilers need the next goal and they need to start pounding the Hawks into the ice whenever they can catch them.

I don’t know. I wonder if it’s the speed on the Hawks. They’re a team that is similar in make up as the Oil, but they succeeded at being a failure better and longer than us, so they got the better draft picks 😉 As such, they are that much better all around.

I kind of worried earlier in the season with the Oilers vs. any team like the Hawks or Penguins. Run and gun teams will stomp us.

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